Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya announced Wednesday it was withdrawing from United Nations peacekeeping duties in South Sudan after UN chief Ban Ki-moon fired the Kenyan head of the force for failing to protect civilians. Continued deployment of Kenyan troops in South Sudan “is no longer tenable”, the foreign …
Read More »UN commander sacked in South Sudan for failure to protect
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday sacked the commander of the peacekeeping force in South Sudan following a damning report showing failure to protect civilians during violence earlier this year in Juba. The report from a UN special investigation found that a lack …
Read More »Russia loses election to UN rights council
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia on Friday failed to win re-election at the United Nations Human Rights Council in a vote rights groups said reflected international disapproval of Moscow’s involvement in the war in Syria. The UN General Assembly elected Hungary and Croatia instead to represent eastern …
Read More »Great Lakes leaders want UN force in DRC bolstered amid unrest fears
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Leaders of the Great Lakes region called Thursday for the UN peacekeeping force in strife-torn DR Congo to be bolstered, as fears rise of an upsurge in violence linked to delayed presidential polls. At the end of two-day talks, they called for more contributions to …
Read More »Gordon Brown calls for war crimes probe of Syria school strike
United Nations, United States | AFP | Former British prime minister Gordon Brown on Thursday called for a war crimes investigation of the deadly strike on a school in Syria that killed 22 children. “This is the worst assault on school children among 98 separate attacks on Syrian schools in …
Read More »Burundi notifies UN of ICC pullout
United Nations, United States | AFP | Burundi on Thursday formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, dealing a blow to the tribunal seen as a pillar of international justice. South Africa was the first to take the formal step at the United Nations …
Read More »US abstains for first time in UN vote against Cuba embargo
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Wednesday abstained for the first time in 25 years from a vote at the United Nations calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba. The UN General Assembly adopted the annual resolution by an overwhelming vote of …
Read More »ICC, UN urges dialogue with African nations set to quit
UN chief hopes South Africa will reconsider ICC withdrawal Dakar, Senegal | AFP | The International Criminal Court on Monday urged member states to seek a consensus with critical African nations, while stressing that South Africa and Burundi’s announced departures would not take place for at least year. “Today more …
Read More »Afghan opium cultivation skyrockets as eradication collapses
Kabul, Afghanistan | AFP | Afghanistan saw a 10 percent jump in opium cultivation this year, highlighting bumper harvests owing to collapsing eradication efforts amid growing insecurity and declining international counter-narcotics assistance, the UN said Sunday. Cultivation dropped last year due to drought conditions but it has been on …
Read More »Arms deals with Europe, Israel fuel South Sudan war
United Nations, United States | AFP | A UN panel of experts has found evidence of “well-established networks” of arms suppliers in Eastern Europe and the Middle East that are fueling the war in South Sudan. In a confidential report to the Security Council obtained by AFP on Thursday, the …
Read More »